


flower of carnage

by agentlithium



Series: hurt prone [2]
Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Non-Graphic Violence, Season/Series 05, basically just lee dragging ed and kicking the shit out of him, because ed doesnt deserve comfort, ed only liked her in theory, edward nygma is an abusive incel cucklord, lee genuinely hates him, lee is beautiful and hardcore as fuck, no nygmakins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 02:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16525571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agentlithium/pseuds/agentlithium
Summary: ed seeks lee out for some apologies





	flower of carnage

**Author's Note:**

> this is,, sort of a sequel to champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends?? idk I stayed up until 3:30 watching kill bill last night

Edward was less than excited to be back in the Narrows. Empty as it was following the mass evacuation, he still passed the occasional disgusting vagrant passed out on the sidewalk. He would’ve turned up his nose at the sight, but he was in no better position. His hair was greasy and long, his clothes unwashed, his face caked in filth. He had been sleeping in a far-off corner of the vacant library ever since he left Oswald’s base of operations. He felt lost in this new world of chaos. His superior intellect meant nothing in a city of brutes. Violence was now the only way one could survive and thrive. Ed convinced himself he was hiding in order to conjure up some perfect master plan to gain power over those who ruled the ruins of Gotham, not out of cowardice. He hadn’t had any success in coming up with this plan, but he definitely had one in the works. That’s the only reason he had been sitting inside the library, terrified out of his mind for several months now. How long had it been? The days have been blending together lately. 

But now he was back to the old drawing board. The beginning— well, not the  _ beginning _ -beginning, but still pretty far back. Well, it was only a few months ago. This year really felt like a lifetime. He wasn’t here without purpose, though. When he eavesdropped on her and Oswald’s conversation, the last thing he heard her say was that she believed she would be returning to the Narrows. At the time, he wanted nothing to do to with her. It was over and she made that pointedly clear by almost killing him. Edward, however, was never a man to respect a woman’s wishes for him to stay away from her. Whatever he had to say was more important than her comfort and personal safety. She had to listen to him after everything they put each other through. If she had the time to settle things with Jim Gordon, she could settle things with Ed.

He was very surprised at the ease with which he found her. She was back at Cherry’s. There was no security at the door, or anywhere, for that matter. Ed still snuck in through a side entrance, just to be safe. She was standing in the large empty room that once held fatal fights and roaring crowds. Ed recalled his brief stint as a rodeo clown with much less pride than he did at the time. He was so far above entertaining the gutter trash general populous, but everyone has to start somewhere.

She was carefully looking over some papers spread out over the bar. Her back was to him when he entered. The situation was frightfully similar to their last meeting in the Narrows, except this time, Ed was unarmed and it appeared that so was she. The sound of his worn shoes on the concrete floor alerted her. She spun around to face him.

“What are you doing here?” she growled, immediately on the defensive. The hostility in her tone was startling, but not unexpected.

“I-It’s okay, Lee. I... honestly, I don’t know why I’m here,” he stepped closer. Lee visibly tensed. She backed right up against the bar top.

“Then get out. I thought I established that I never wanted to see you again.”

“I know, but please, you have to listen to me.” This was getting off to a rough start already. Lee was obviously looking about for something to use as a weapon, her gaze lingering on a few scattered pipes Ed passed on the way in.

“Don’t tell me what I have to do. I don’t have to listen to you.”

“Please, I came all the way out here to find you.”

“That sounds like a you-problem for expecting I’d want to listen to whatever you had to say.”

“No, you owe me this, at least.” Ed struggled to keep his temper in check. She stabbed him too, something she seemed to be forgetting. Ed was a wounded party here as well.

“I  _ owe _ you?”

Ed had to de-escalate the situation quickly. He knew why Lee was mad, he didn’t need to hear it again. He swallowed his own indignation before continuing.

“Lee, listen, I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m sorry I betrayed you, I’m sorry I used you for my own personal gain. I ruined everything for you. I always ruin everything. I only wanted the best for us. I loved you and I let my emotions blind me. I’m just so, so sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, not after everything that I did.”

Ed looked at her, eyes earnest and pleading. He almost squeezed out a tear. Lee was quiet for a moment. He hoped that her sympathetic nature would lift the weight of guilt off his weary shoulders. Maybe she would even admit some of her own faults. His hopes were swiftly dashed when she scoffed in his face.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.”

He never heard her talk like that before. Using such vulgar language, she didn’t even sound like herself. 

“Edward, how did you think this little excursion was going to go for you?”

She didn’t let him answer.

“Did you think you were going to waltz in here and pout about how sad and misunderstood you are and I was going to accept your pathetic excuse for an apology and let you walk out of here scot-free?”

“W-Well—”

“Did you think that I would be fooled so easily and fall for your ‘I’m better now’ act again? You already conned me once, why shouldn’t it be so easy to pull the wool over my eyes this time? I’m a stupid woman, controlled by my feelings, after all.”

“No, I don’t—”

“Did you honestly think for one god-damned second that in spite of you killing Kristen, framing Jim so I would be alone when I lost our child, abusing my kindness— no, my pity, and ultimately planning on driving a knife into my back because you’re too weak to look me in the eye when you betray me. After all of that, did you think that I would suddenly view you as some sensitive, self-aware, genuinely remorseful soul looking for another chance and just welcome you back into my life with open arms?”

Ed’s mouth hung open. Her stare locked him in place, cold and callous. Admittedly, he had no idea why anyone would bow to her. She was nice and quite attractive, but surely she had none of the will necessary to truly conquer. Even as the ‘Queen of the Narrows’, he still saw her as something soft, subservient. But standing here, he felt as if he were two-feet-tall. Her commanding aura and stony expression were enough to steal the words right out of his mouth. She regarded him as if he were something subhuman.

“Get the fuck out of here,” she said. 

And she turned away.

“Lee,” Ed demanded and reached for her arm. He didn’t come here to be talked down to. He would not be ignored. The moment his fingertips brushed her sleeve, she whipped back around, took his arm in a vice grip, and twisted. Ed yelped as he bent, accommodating the uncomfortable angle of his arm. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Lee would be more than happy to break it. When she spoke, her voice was hollow and grave.

“If you touch me again, I promise you this: nobody— not you, not a single soul in Gotham City— will ever forget the historic ass-beating I will bestow upon you.”

Ed would’ve laughed if he wasn’t so focused on his bones being strained beyond their limit. Lee was definitely not laughing.

“I gave you so much more than you deserved. I should’ve kicked you out on your ass when you came crawling to me for help the first time. I honestly believed that you could’ve been helped, that there was a good person buried deep in there somewhere. I tolerated your nauseating advances towards me because maybe, just maybe, I could reform one killer and save a few lives. But there isn’t a good person within you to save and there never was. You were always like this. Nobody knew what a fucking monster you were until you murdered Kristen and by then it was too fucking late. Do you know how long I grieved her death? Or the death of my child? Do you know what it’s like to go through a miscarriage? Of course not. You only do things for yourself. You don’t care what happens to others. It’s all collateral, isn’t it?”

“God, please stop!” Ed wasn’t sure if he was pleading for the release of his arm or for her to just shut up. She didn’t really think he was nauseating, did she? It wasn’t all a game to humour his mislead fantasies, their whole relationship. It couldn’t have been. He was somewhat taken aback that she was so eager to be with him, considering what he did, but he just assumed she got over it. One can only dwell on such things for so long. The voice in the back of his head was quick to remind him that he had no qualms about forgetting both Kristen and Isabella as soon as a new woman caught his eye. Maybe it was only he who saw no purpose in grieving.

Lee wrenched his arm harder. Hard enough to make him shout.

“Don’t tell me to stop! What? Can’t face up to your own crimes? Or do you have so little respect for me that you don’t wish to waste your time listening to me?”

“I know what I did,” Ed gritted out.

“No, if you knew what you did, you would be grovelling at my feet, begging for me to spare your life. Your ‘apology’ isn’t worth shit because you don’t mean it. You are physically incapable of feeling remorse and at this point, I don’t want your remorse. The only apology I’ll accept is your head on a plate.” Finally, she let him go. Ed’s joints ached fiercely. His sensible approach melted away into a fast-growing fury. How could she speak to him like that? 

“This isn’t you. You’re not some bloodthirsty animal.”

“You don’t know me at all, Ed.”

“I do know you! I knew you before you became what you are now. You aren’t ruthless and you aren’t a killer. You loved me. We hurt each other. You lead me on and left me for Jim Gordon. Do you know how that made me feel? You should be apologizing to me!”

The look on her face was horrible. It reminded Ed of Oswald— a mangled frown that really didn’t do her any favours.

“How delusional are you? You really don’t know me if you thought that I would defile not only my own morals but Kristen’s memory and the memory of every other innocent person you killed. I never loved you. I never even liked you. I wanted to be sick every time you kissed me, but you were so pitiful, I almost forgot what a deplorable little rat you were. I really wanted to help you, but that’s all you were to me: a charity case. If I could have my time back, I would cave your freezer-burned skull in long before you could manipulate me.”

Ed’s blood boiled. His clenched fists shook. His nostrils flared with each harsh exhale of hot air. Lee squared off with him, standing strong and boring holes into him with vicious eyes. This  _ whore _ really thought she could get away with talking to him like this? He surged forward.

“ _ You fucking bitch! _ ”

Lee reared back and clocked him across the jaw. That stopped him in his tracks. He forgot how well she could throw a punch. He stumbled and steadied himself. Without thinking, without caring, he swung back at her. For a man who condemned abusers to the highest degree, he sure had a fondness for abusing women. He told himself over and over that it was all her own fault. If she listened to him, if she obeyed him, if she would just be fucking quiet _. _ Women like Lee never know when to stop. She knew where this would go, but she just kept on pushing. He only wanted the best for her and if he had to beat her into submission for her to understand that, then so be it.

But underestimating Lee was Ed’s greatest mistake. She dodged his uncoordinated attack by a hair’s breadth and, with all the force she could muster, drove her foot into the most sensitive part of his anatomy in retaliation. A shock of blinding agony flooded Ed’s system. He tried to scream, but all that came out was a feeble hiss. No sooner did he hit his knees did Lee deliver another kick right on his nose. He fell with his hands between his thighs. Blow after blow rained down upon his exposed torso. He screeched and screeched without a sound to offer, spit and blood from his open maw dripping on the floor. His vision was fuzzy at the edges and he thought his lungs were collapsing. He was completely consumed by an unbearable throbbing pain. Then, the sole of Lee’s boot came to rest on his throat. She placed just enough weight on him to make him gasp for air.

“What did I say about touching me?”

“L—”

She leaned forward. Ed croaked.

“Y’know what? I want nothing more than to crush your skinny neck right now. I want to watch you suffer as you die, gargling your own blood and bone fragments. I was too careless last time, but I’ll be sure that this time, no one will ever be able to put you back together.”

She chuckled nonchalantly. She was suddenly so calm.

“You said I wasn’t a killer, right? I can change that very quickly.”

Ed panicked. He kicked and squirmed under Lee’s foot. He was suffocating and she wasn’t letting up. He couldn’t stop her. She made up her mind that he wasn’t getting out of here alive. There was nothing he could do but cry. Tears flowed freely and he choked out desperate whimpers in a doomed effort to appeal to her soft side. A part of him saw the justice in Lee’s actions. Ed took so much from her, so she had every right to take his life. His face went from red to purple as his breathing was constricted further and further and his mind grew hazy. He wasn’t even going to die in dignity. He was going to be squashed under Lee’s shoe like a bug.

Just when he had resigned himself to his fate, Lee removed her weight from his esophagus, but her boot remained a looming threat. Ed coughed and greedily sucked in as much air as possible.

“Listen,” she snarled. “I’m not letting you live because I want to. Believe me, I would’ve eviscerated you by now if it was up to me, but Penguin spent a lot of money fixing you up. He made me promise not to kill you and the last thing I want is him on my ass. I suggest you thank him for that.”

Ed was barely paying attention. With every breath he took, he let out a shaking sob. He curled in on himself. The only thing he could process was  _ pain, pain, pain _ . He had a broken nose, several cracked ribs, and he refused to even consider the state the rest of him was in. He swore he felt something incredibly vital rupture— or  _ pop _ — but he didn’t dare move to inspect it. Lee rolled her eyes at him. She had put up with this for long enough. She stepped back.

“Get up.”

Ed quivered, but didn’t move any further.

“I said, get up!” she barked. He hiccupped, failing to stifle his crying. His shivering limbs could hardly bring him to his feet, but he scrambled up as fast as he could. Lee wasn’t even in the vicinity of fucking around. She was bound by her word to Oswald, but Ed wasn’t willing to test her loyalty. He didn’t stop to look back at her. He just limped right out the front door, sniffling and blubbering the whole way. He didn’t need to see the satisfied smirk on her lips. He didn’t need to hear her mock and degrade him. He didn’t need her to remind him of how wrong he was. Ed learned his lesson. Lee wasn’t Queen for no reason. She was so gentle until she wasn’t. Push anyone far enough and they will snap. Lee could be ruthless and unforgiving and God help you if you find yourself on her bad side.

Ed decided then that he wouldn’t go back to the library today. What he really needed was medical assistance.

Plus, there was apparently someone he had to thank for saving his life. Again.

**Author's Note:**

> hope yall liked this mess! and also fuck edward nygma


End file.
